Machine for concaving the breasts of heels.



NITED ST TES PATENT @FFICE.

JOHN G. BUZZELL, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 693,833, dated, February 25 1902.

Application filed April 25, 1901. Serial No. 57,409. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN GARDNER BozzELL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Lynn, county of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe nomically concave the bottom of the top lift of the heel of a shoe or boot, adjacent to the breast thereof, with great precision and nicety and with such variety of concaves as may be suggested to the operator or required by the style or demands of the trade. The old or present method of performing such labor is manual and the finish dependent upon the skill and taste of the Workman in cutting and sandpapering, obviously producing results which are varied and undesirable in a case of footwear and which detracts from their salable qualities where much depends upon the finish of this class of goods. To effect the practical operation of this form of ornamentation, Iproceed in the manner illustrated in the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 exhibits a side elevation of the front of my improved shoe heel top lift breast-concaving machine with a rotating cutter and a sandpapering-disk thereto attached. Fig. 2 is a plan longitudinally below the dashed line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the devices retaining the leather top lift in a position to be concaved. Fig. 4 denotes a longitudinal section of the ap purtenances gaging the top lift against the rotating cutter-blades. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the cutter with its shield removed. Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the machine assembled for practical use, and Fig. 7 a perspective of the top lift attached'to the heel viewed from the under side or tread to ex hibit the result of the machines finish or concave. 7

Corresponding letters of reference denote similar features throughout the several views, referring to which- A designates the head of my machine, ,provided with two horizontally-revolubleshafts,

the upper supporting the smoother or finisher and the lower carrying the cutter,'comprising, preferably, six blades, the. cutting edges of which have a defined angle to. form the concave in proper relation to the plane of the top lift, the assembled cutter. having a protective shield covering its outer face.

Integral with the head A of the machine are two flanges A A and the bearing A ,which collectively support the curved slidable plate or work-rest B, adjusted when desired by the thumb-nut O, which traverses the screw D, secured in the machine-head, the end B of this plate being bifurcated, so as to embrace the circumferential slot in the shank of said thumb-nut. Said plate is further movably connected to the hearing A by the screw E,

(also secured in the head,) which passes through the slot 13 in the slidable plate, Fig. 2. The spring F'surrounding said screw confines said plate Bin a yielding manner againstthe bearing A which also serves as a ful-' crum for said plate B in its resistance to the spring F, the tension of which is regulated by the nut G. The slidable plate thusattached to the machine-head can in the first instance be moved horizontally toward or Y away form the cutter by the rotation of the thumb-nut O, and in the second instance it may be adjusted laterally away from or toward the machine-head by the nut G. Pri

marily, however, the office of said nut and screw'is to hold'the plate and its attached incline in engagement with the projection A presently described.

Adjustably secured to the back of the slidable plate B by the screws H H passing through slots B B willbe observed the incline H, which, abutting against the projec-.

tion A forming an integral part of the machine-head intermediate with the flanges A A, will force the plate end B gradually out- Ward whenever it is moved toward the cutter and always in a horizontal plane coincident with the angle of the cutting-blade adjacent in its revolution to said slidable plate, the end of which, B is set at a selected angle with the main body and supports rigidly thev heel-rest'plate I. The rearward edge of the end thereof in proximity to the bladesof the cutter is concaved sufficiently, as at I, to encroach upon its front face, and thus produce the slighter concave I", which allows the material composing the heel to be cut away to a desired depth without contact of the revolving blades with the metal heel-rest I.

To confine the top lift evenly, so that the concaving will be symmetricahduplex rockerarms J J are movably attached to the face of said plate I, near the upper and under edges thereof, by the pivotal screws K K. The contiguous ends J J are held in juxtaposition by the restraining helical spring L, against the action of which to expand said ends J J and to decrease the space between the opposite ends J J is provided the adjustable duplex inclined finger-piece M confined in the slot N, Fig. 1, through the intermediate plate N, secured to the plate B by the shouldered confining finger-piece M threaded in the button M, which is loosened slightly and the finger-piece moved forward between the ends J J of said rocker-arms until the ends J J thereof approach sufiiciently to embrace or to define the contour of the top lift, the shoe being held against the rest or plate I by the hand of the operator in a position to press the top lift against the edges of the revolvin g blades, and thus cut the concave Q. (Exhibited in Fig. 7.) When desirable, this concave Q may be increased or diminished in length or transversely of the top lift by adjusting inwardly or outwardly the upper and lower extension-plates O O, eachhaving a lengthwise slot and screws P P therethrough, by which they are confined to the front sides of the rocker-arm ends J J Thereflexed ends 0 O are turned inwardly and adapted to bear upon the vertical corners of the breast of the top lift to accomplish the purpose above stated. Obviously there are diverse methods (not herein illustrated) through which said rocker-arms maybe oscillated, such as a right and left threaded screw, and other modifications may be suggested which will not depart from the essence of my invention and are intended to be included in the claims. In the practicalcnttiug of these top lifts those of the smallest and uniform size are preferably first selected and concaved and in succeeding order the larger sizes. This method avoids the necessity of frequently gaging the machine and obviously expedites the work.

Having ascertained the nature and operation of my improved invention, I desire not to be held to the strict interpretation of the details of construction herein described and illustrated, but may adapt such equivalents therefor as would come Within the fair scope and'spirit of my invention, and I claim- 1. A machine for the purpose stated comprising a cutter-shaft mounted in suitable hearings in the frame of the machine, and a beveling cutter carried by said shaft, a workrestmounted on said frame and comprising a slidable plate carrying an incline, a shoulceasss der on the frame adapted to contact with said incline, means to adjust said plate toward and from the cutter in a direction parallel with the axis of rotation of the cutter whereby said incline and cooperating shoulder will produce a simultaneous movement at right angles to said axis and maintain the edge of the work-rest parallel to the operative edge of the cutter, and work-centering devices carried by said slidable plate, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for concaving the heel top lift of a shoe or boot the doubly-concaved heelrest and the rocker-arms thereto pivotally attached, the adjustable shouldered fingerpiece having two inclines adapted to contact with the inside edges of the ends J, J, ofsaid rocker-arms, the intermediate plate N having a slot N, and means to retain said fingerpiece in a fixed location to confine the positions of the rocker-arms substantially as specified.

3. The combination with the plate I, the rocker-arms J, J, the confining finger-piece restraining said rocker-arms, and the slotted plate N, of the curved slidable plate B, provided at one end with means for the retention of the heel-plate and at the other end with a bifurcation adapted to embrace the circumferential slot in the thumbnut 0, through which said slidable plate is horizontally adjusted to aline with the angle of the blade in proximity to'the heel-rest as the cutter rotates, substantially as set forth.

4. The slidable plate having a slot for the reception of the finger-piece provided with two inclines, and a slot to receive means for its'lateral flexible support, the attached adjustable incline I-I, arranged to force outwardly said plate and means forming an integral part of the machine-head to abut against said incline and actuate the slidable plate to a position in alinement with the cutting-angle of each of the revolving blades of the cutter when they are in juxtaposition to the heelrest as specified.

5. In combination with the slidable plate and its coacting accessories the supportingflanges A, A, adapted to guide and confine said plate in its horizontal movement,the projection A coacting with the incline and the bearing A forming a fulcrum for the slidable plate substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

6. In a heel top-lift breast-concaving machine, the curved slidable plate having a simultaneous compound movemeut,and means for its adjustment, the adjustable incline imparting lateral movement thereto,the slotted intermediate plate and the duplex inclined finger-piece adjusted therein,the heel-rest plate, the rockenarms pivoted thereto, andthe adj ustable extensions connected to the rockerarms, all forming cooperative parts of said slidable plate, in combination the bearing forming a fulcrum, the supporting-flanges,

the projection intermediate with said flanges I Signed by me at Boston,l\lassachusetts,this coacting with the adjustable incline, the cir- I 12th day of April, 1901'. cnlar implement having a series of integral t r blades adapted to cut the concave at a pre- I JOHN Z Witnesses:

EDGAR B. HUNT,

ERNEST L. BUZZELL.

determined angle in the heel top lift, and means to impart a rotatory motion to the cutting implement substantially as specified. 

